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He’s survived bankruptcy, two marital breakdowns and a persistent habit of referring to himself in the third person: Ozwald Boateng remains a force to be reckoned with. The first black tailor on Savile Row and former creative director of Givenchy, Boateng this month releases A Man’s Story, his 12-years-in-the-making film of his remarkable career. “I’m not nervous about the film, I’m excited – it’s like the first time I sold a suit,” he explains to GQ.com, sitting in an elegant café in London’s Mayfair. “I was always the youngest one around. When I went to Paris for my first catwalk show I was always the kid. Now I’m 45 years old. I’ve got mileage in the tank.” Here he explains how men should wear colour, why Giorgio Armani still inspires him and why everyone should follow the sartorial example of ageing rockers…

Confidence can sometimes be misconstrued as arrogance.

Shirt collars are very important to me. Putting a very soft shirt collar with a formal suit doesn’t work for me at all.

The shoulder line is key on a bespoke suit. Once you have a strong understanding of that, the rest flows from there.

The idea of an ill-fitting suit is something I cannot register. If I register it once then it goes off and destroys! It starts interfering with the mainframe of my computer. It’s like dust in the lens – you grow accustomed to the dust and it starts building up.

Dressing well on a budget is about what we call “strategic shopping”. Spot what you like and then be first in the queue when the sale comes. Be patient enough to rummage through the rails. Sort your basics out and then save up for the key pieces. Make sure you always spend money on shoes though.

The most common style mistake men make? The guy who sits down with his buttons closed and doesn’t know he has to relax the jacket. I understand that the harness of the jacket creates [a particular] shape but there are some rules. Release the button.

If your suit is not handmade, get the other elements really right. Make sure your shirt is pressed and has that sharpness of line. It demonstrates that you pay attention to the way you look.

Style is about consistency and not having just one great day or one great photograph. Paul Bettany always looks good. He’s got a good presence about him. I haven’t seen him slouch and it’s easy to slouch.

‘A Man’s Story’ Preview – Ozwald Boateng documentary film

Casino – that movie really sang for me. It was beautifully shot and you could feel the colours jump off the screen. They must have been in my store when they did that film! The suits were immaculate and there was real attention to detail about the clothes – when [De Niro’s] sitting down he doesn’t want to get his trousers creased. If you love what you wear, that’s what you do.

The rulebook says for black tie it should be a black suit with a satin lapel. But there are lots of things you can do to make it different. I like to play with the traditional themes – it doesn’t have to be black, so I’ve got my signature dark purple tux. It’s a bit boring that the women have all the opportunity and the guys don’t.

I just listened to it again, and I thought it really deserved its own post.

It is one of the best financial interviews on the web for two reasons.

1. Kyle Bass is a smart cat

2. He masterfully and subtlety slaps around the female interviewer with skill never seen on television.

Some dimes that Bass drops:

“You can’t hate the mirror because you are ugly.” (I may bite this one).

“Capitalism without bankruptcy is like Chritianity without hell.”

“Buying gold is just buying a put against the idiocy of the political cycle. It’s That Simple”

“You know how screwed up Europe is when you have an Italian central banker and a German pope”.

“The only way to quote resolve any problems in Europe is to have massive debt restructuring…
One of the things we’ve said in our office recently is you know how screwed up Europe is when you have a German pope and an Italian central banker. We have a scenario today in which debt has grown globally in the last nine years from $80 trillion to $210 trillion. Global credit market debt has grown at 12% a year for the last nine years, while global GDP has grown at 4. We’re in a scenario where the PIIGS have sailed into a zone of insolvency. When you sail into the zone of insolvency there is no quote solution for you. The bill is due and you have to pay the pill. What has to happen is it is of our opinion that these debts have to be written down, it’s that simple.

Basically you’re saying if Germany goes joint and severally liable with the profligate idiots of southern Europe will that quote solve the scenario? Think about this. Let’s assume Germany goes to doing a eurobond and Germany takes on these… first of all German constitutional court has already ruled that that’s illegal in Germany, but let’s assume that they get over that and they go ahead and issue this bond. What would that do for the profligate members including Greece when Greece says, “OK we’re all in, we’re good, you’re lending us more money, we have a big debt problem and you’re lending us some more and now we can borrow a little cheaper,” and then Greece keeps spending, and they go back to Germany and say, “OK Germany I need some more money.” Germany says, “No, we’re going to impose this real austerity on you now.” Greece says, “Fine, we’ll default.” Every single time from now on Germany is in the exact situation it’s in today. We call it in Texas a Mexican Standoff, meaning there’s no winner. The profligate members will always have Germany by the short hairs every time this scenario comes up. So I disagree. I don’t think that Germany will end up going all in. It would not be to the benefit of Germany to do so in the long run. Let me ask you this question: How many of your relatives would you go joint and severally liable with?”

Life + TImes: There’s a very dangerous aspect to your clothing. Where does this come from?

Duncan Quinn: I suspect the edge lies in the underlying inspirations for everything I do…Michael Caine’s great and iconic movies from the 1960′s, Ian Fleming’s James Bond, The Who, The Clash, The Jam, The Rolling Stones and The Sex Pistols, but probably also having grown up with a father who hails from post-war Glasgow and was in the Flying Squad at Scotland Yard, as well as a guy in France who taught me about wine, food and life and who left home several days a week in the small hours with two loaded .45 automatics.

L+T: Who are your top three — living, dead or fictional — style icons?

DQ: Jack Carter: How could you not love the man who said, “You’re a big man, but you’re in bad shape. With me it’s a full time job. Now behave yourself.” He was hard as nails and dressed to kill. Literally. Steve McQueen: He was just a real man’s man. Cars, bikes, booze and cigarettes all wrapped up in clothing that fitted his aura so well it created an icon. Enzo Ferrari: He was probably responsible for the largest number of iconic and beautifully crafted motor vehicles since the creation of the internal combustion engine. His creations have already stood the test of time and are influential on anyone and everyone who loves beautiful feats of engineering today. Try putting a 250 GTO in a room and keeping people away from it.

L+T: If you could give one tip to the stylistically challenged, what would It be?

DQ: Find your style, which is that which you feel comfortable with, not someone else’s. Then turn the volume up a little on the things that make you “you,” whether it is yellow socks or bright green oversize glasses. Then you’ll have your own style. And no matter what you rock you’ll feel confident and thus look amazing.

L+T: Do you believe ZZ-Top was correct when they sang, “Every girl’s crazy about a sharp dressed man?”

DQ: Absolutely without a question of a doubt. Which is why we always joke that our suits come with a “get laid guarantee.” It has never failed.

Well, before you buy one, watch this excellent video about Ozwald Boateng.

I typically make a stop by his Savile Row shop every summer in London. Cool cats they are.

Style is confidence.
Style is respect.
Style is personal.
Style is passion.
Style is seduction.
Style is sensual.
Style is creativity.
Style is individual.
Style is success.
Style is power.
Style is instinct.

Through a slumping economy and a rapidly changing boxing landscape, the owners have established 5th Street Gym as a landmark in its own right.

The secret, Baiamonte said, is in the spirit.

“A lot of gyms are so money-hungry, that all they care about is, ‘OK, this is what you have to pay, and that’s it,’ ’’ Baiamonte said. “Here, we won’t do that. Here, it’s just being friendly. That’s the one thing Angelo always did: He was friendly with everybody.”

Baiamonte is one of several “Dundee disciples,” a group of trainers who honed their craft under the late Angelo Dundee. A self-described gym rat, Baiamonte began working with Dundee in 2000, and in 2009 he decided he wanted to reopen the 5th Street Gym. As he looked into different options, he joined forces with the Chicago duo of Spencer — also a trainer — and Tsatas —a businessman and boxing enthusiast.

All that’s left of the original location is a plaque, and so Baiamonte, Spencer and Tsatas bought a space one block north, at 555 Washington Ave.

Now, the 5th Street Gym’s legacy is displayed on the walls of the new location with fight posters dating to Muhammad Ali’s storied 1964 upset victory over Sonny Liston. Baiamonte even brought in a window from the original gym and the sign that welcomed visitors from 5th Street.

Marc Faber: “I was in Phoenix the other day, and then the taxi driver took me to a nice hotel, The Fairmont, and then he told me about how the person he drove right before me told him that he just bought a 5 bedroom house for $120,000. Where in the world can you buy a 5 bedroom house for $120,000 (good question?).

I would buy it, live in one bedroom and rent out 4 bedrooms to concubines!”